At the Opera
by Oneturtledove
Summary: With Adam, things rarely went as intended. Set before "Risk." Adam/Lindsay friendship/pre-romance.


"I bet it is!"

"I bet it's not!"

"It is too!"

"It is not!"

"Alright, White and Nerdy, if you're so certain of your deductive skills, let's make this interesting."

"Calamity Jane, you've got a deal. What are we betting?"

"If this comes out to be mineral, you are going to the opera with me."

"And if it comes out to be vegetable you are watching _Dr. Who_ with me. An entire season."

"Excuse me, but one night at the opera is not comparable to an entire season of _Dr. Who_."

"Okay, so four episodes?"

"Deal."

They reached over the table and shook on it, faces set in determination as they waited for the mass spec to decide their fate.

"And it looks like…" Lindsay started excitedly, reading the printout. "Suit up, James Bond, we're going to the opera."

He crashed his head down onto the light table forlornly and let out a pathetic "whyyyyy?" as she ruffled his hair.

"It's okay, Adam. I'll dress up pretty."

"You will?"

"Mm-hmm. I will even let you bring opera glasses."

"Yeah?"

"I'll cook you dinner after."

"So basically I won this bet."

"The honor of my presence was a foregone conclusion. I just didn't want you to hate me."

"Feeding me, dressing up, I think I can forgive the hours of opera."

"Then it's a plan. Pick me up at seven."

"I'll be there."

She gave him a smile and took the report in to stick in the file before checking in with Stella and heading home. The weather was starting to change and she walked slowly, breathing in the crisp air. Almost cold enough for a coat, but she could handle it. She didn't grow up in a place where weeks of below zero temperatures were the norm for nothing. She walked home quickly, realizing she was going to need some time to shower and find something to wear.

She jumped quickly into the shower, washing the crime lab grime off of her and going a round with the gardenia body wash. She looked at the bottle for a moment and laughed, shaking her head at herself for putting on something so outside the norm. She suddenly had the urge to mess with Adam's mind. After all, he had been the one to put salt in her coffee yesterday.

Stepping out of the shower, she donned her robe and toweled her hair dry, making faces at herself in the mirror absentmindedly. She hadn't dressed up for anything in at least a year, if not longer. It wasn't that she didn't like to, it was just that she never had a time or an occasion. She hadn't really wanted to go to the opera, but she'd ended up with tickets, didn't relish going alone, and wanted to see Adam squirm. She was on call, but it was worth a shot. Maybe there would be an encore performance.

She giggled at the thought and moved into her bedroom, throwing open the closet doors and sighing.

"One dress, two dress, red dress… blue dress," she decided, taking the dress off the hanger and checking it for spots or rips. She had some dark blue velvet pumps somewhere in the closet and she tossed the dress on her bed while she looked for the shoes. They were hidden in the back and she reached for them, yelping when a cockroach skittered across the carpet.

"Come back here you coward and fight like a man!"

She picked up a shoe to smash it, but it was already gone, back into the shadows of her closet.

"You just watch yourself. I'll flush you if you're not careful."

She got dressed quickly and spent the next ten minutes drying her hair. She needed to get it cut but she never had time, and when she did, she had no desire. She stood there for a moment, checking the ends and wondering if she had time to trim it herself. Her hand was halfway to the scissors when her phone rang.

"Adam if you tell me you don't have anything nice to wear, I'm going to come over there and dress you."

"Hello to you too. I'm running late."

"How late?"

"Just a few minutes. I'm on my way home, but I need to know what to wear. Like slacks?"

"Yeah."

"And like a shirt of some kind?"

"That would probably be a good idea."

"So should I dress like Flack?"

She giggled and plugged in her curling iron.

"Well maybe not so Men's Warehouse, but that's the general idea."

"Do I gotta wear a jacket? The only one I got has elbow patches."

"Elbow patches… I'm not even going to ask. And no, you don't have to wear a jacket as long as you wear a tie."

"Lesser of two evils here."

"Rosemary's baby."

"Okay, I'll see what I can whip up. You gonna go without me if I wear white socks with black pants?"

"Adam Ross, a bet is a bet."

"I know, I'm not a pansy!"

"Good. I'll see you in half an hour."

"I'm rushin'."

"Oh you are? How do you feel about the Romanovs?"

"I mean I am going quickly."

"Bye Adam."

She hung up the phone and laughed to herself as she started curling her hair. It was a quick job and soon she was spritzing it with hairspray. She spent a while on her make-up, walking the fine line between lady enjoying the night and lady of the night. It took a while but she finally felt right, so she shut the bathroom light off and headed for the coat closet. She was going to need something warm but the fleece lined jean jacket that she'd had since the beginning of time was just not going to cut it tonight. She found a black knee length pea coat and put it on, making sure her keys, cell phone, and pager were in the pockets.

Adam hadn't been kidding, he was now fifteen minutes late. She supposed that was okay, if he had been on time he would have been annoyed at having to wait. So she straightened the pictures of her nephews and niece on the fridge. She put away the clean dishes. She refilled the water pitcher. She checked the expiration dates on the cereal.

At half an hour late, she turned to scowl at the clock when a quiet noise brought her gaze down to the floor. It was the cockroach from the closet (at least she hoped it was because she didn't want two of them running around) and it skittered across the floor while she let out the girliest half scream she could muster. Her front door burst open and Adam stood there, looking half heroic and half terrified.

"What? What happened?"

"Roach!" she said, pointing to the floor.

"Why is there pot in your apartment?"

They stared at each other for several seconds before the lightbulb went on over his head.

"Oh! You didn't add the cock to the front."

"Excuse me?"

"I thought you meant… um…wow."

"Forgetting that moment and moving on, let's go."

"You don't want to catch the cockroach?"

"Not as much as I wanna see you squirm at the opera. We're gonna be late, get moving."

He obeyed and they went outside, hailing a cab as quickly as they could.

"You look really nice tonight," he said, a little shyly. "You always look nice but I mean you look a different kind of nice tonight."

"Thanks Adam."

He gave her a half grin and she reached over to straighten his tie.

"You look pretty nice yourself. Thanks for losing that bet."

"You're welcome."

They rode on in silence for several blocks before the cab dropped them in front of the opera house. They rushed up to the door and went into the lobby, seeing that not only were they late, they were so late that they wouldn't even be allowed in.

"Well."

"Well."

They looked at each other and she made a face, wanting to tease him for being late, but not really caring that he had been.

"You said you'd make me dinner."

"Now wait a minute. You didn't have to sit through the opera and now I have to make you dinner? I was the one that won the bet!"

"Okay, I'll buy you dinner. Savvy?"

"Yes."

They walked down the street, hoping there was a hot dog vendor still hanging around. It was several blocks before they found one and each ordered a hotdog with everything.

"You know, I'm glad we missed the opera."

"Me too."

"So how are you gonna make it up to me?"

"What?"

"You need to make good on this bet."

"Hey, the agreed upon conditions could not be met and therefore the original terms of the bet are null and void."

"Oh is that the case?"

"I suppose. Are you not satisfied?"

"No. I'm not."

"Well then. I had better come up with something good."

"Yep."

"Any hints?"

She gave him a smile and was about to reply when her pager buzzed.

"I gotta go," she sighed, shaking her head. "Death calls."

"Rain check?"

"Yeah, definitely. Here, take my dinner."

He laughed and took it from her.

"Ug, I'm so not dressed for a crime scene. I have to run home and get my kit. Adam, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, no big deal. We'll pick up where we left off later, okay?"

"Alright. It's a date."

"You mean a plan."

"Either way. Thanks for the cab ride. Hail me another one?"

He held up both the hot dogs, indicating that he had no free hand to hail a cab and she giggled.

"Well thanks anyway."

"Pencil something in for next week?" he asked as she stuck her hand out and got a cab almost immediately.

"Always. See you later, Adam."

"Call me later."

"I will. Goodnight."

She got into the cab and had him take her home and then wait outside while she got her kit. The cab was still running when she jumped in again, giving the driver the address of the scene and pulling out her phone.

"Hey, miss me already?"

"Yeah, but I also wanted to tell you that I just went upstairs to grab my kit and I killed that roach. But I didn't have time to clean it up so its guts are all over the floor. I thought you needed to know."

"Thanks for giving me the image of a smashed cockroach while I was biting into a sauerkraut hotdog. Really Linds, I owe you."

"You're welcome."

"Go be safe and catch bad guys, alright?"

"I will. Bye."

She hung up the phone and opened her kit, making sure she had everything she needed. It wasn't long before she was at the scene and she walked carefully to where Mac and Danny were, making sure the heels didn't make her trip. Danny greeted her appreciatively and asked where she had been.

"I was at the opera," she managed to answer, hiding her smile. At least she had intended to bet at the opera, but with Adam things rarely went as intended.


End file.
